Ruby's POV
"No one wants you! You will never be fit to be anyone's mate!" Luara's voice cut through the crowd like a whip. "You're weak! Pathetic!"
Her words should've bounced off me like raindrops on stone. But they didn't. They stuck. Crawled under my skin. Burrowed deep.
I didn't cry. Not then. I just turned and walked away. I was done.
Done pretending. Done hoping. Done chasing the illusion that somewhere in my pack, my mate would see me really see me and choose me, flaws and all.
But that dream had died a slow, bitter death.
I slammed the door of my rusted-out Toyota, the one I'd bought after grinding away at the pack diner for months. It smelled like burnt coffee and determination. As I pulled out of town, I caught a glimpse of myself in the rearview mirror.
No one behind me.
Just me. Me and the road.
The farther I got from the pack, the lighter I should've felt. But instead, something inside me clenched tighter. I'd escaped, sure but I wasn't free. Not yet.
